Pumpkin beers and Oktoberfests have given way to winter warmers and holiday ales. The question facing Colorado craft beer drinkers: Do you reach for the old favorite, or the shiny new thing?

The seasonal beer market is a lucrative one. After IPAs, no craft beer category moves more volume. So we thought it would be interesting to talk to a few Colorado breweries about how they approach their winter seasonals, which typically are heavier and higher in alcohol for better surviving work cocktail parties and meals with extended family.

On one hand, breweries don’t want to mess with a good thing. Retiring a beloved beer risks alienating customers. At the same time, craft beer drinkers are always eager to try something new, and those who stand pat risk missing out on that audience.

When Breckenridge Brewery first introduced its Christmas Ale, Bill Clinton was in his first year in the White House. The original recipe from 1993 has not been altered. The 7.4 percent ABV strong ale is cold conditioned for four weeks and brewed with Chinook and Mt. Hood hops. This year, Breckenridge is introducing 10-pint mini-kegs of its Christmas Ale, a rarity in the U.S.

“Since we don’t add spices and other flavors to this beer, we think it has more staying power in the market,” said Terry Usry of Breckenridge. “That wasn’t the intent when we created it, though. The recipe is simply what we wanted in a winter warmer – rich, balanced, drinkable, strong.”

“We have a following after all these years, too,” she said. “That’s another reason we don’t plan to make any changes to our winter seasonal. Every bit of this year’s production was sold by the end of last December.”

Longmont-based Left Hand Brewing has found a way to both maintain continuity and introduce new beers with its Fade to Black series of winter seasonals, which began in 2009. The idea from the start was to foster creativity and expermintation by introducing a different style each year under the Fade to Black banner, said Emily Armstrong, marketing and public relations director.

New Belgium’s Snow Day back for year two.

When 2009’s Volume 1: Foreign Export Stout won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival, the brewery was “questioned as to why we would fix something that was not broken,” Armstrong said. But the brewery moved forward, introducing a Smoked Baltic Porter in 2010 and a spicy Pepper Porter featuring chipotle, serrano and ancho chiles in 2011.

This year’s version is a 6.5 percent ABV “Rocky Mountain Black Ale,” which sounds a lot like a black IPA (the brewery describes an initial burst of citrusy hops finished off with dry-roasted malts and hop bitterness).

At least one other Front Range brewery is rolling out a new winter seasonal. Boulder-based Upslope is introducing a Christmas Ale in four packs of 16-ounce cans, the same treatment given its sought-after Pumpkin Ale. Described as a “spiced Belgian-style dubbel,” the beer includes a blend of holiday spices and was fermenting with abbey ale yeast.

Fort Collins-based New Belgium, the state’s largest craft brewery, is borrowing from both playbooks with its winter offerings. It is keeping with tradition with Frambozen, a raspberry brown Flemish ale that dates nearly to the brewery’s inception.

New Belgium has begun swapping out other seasonal beers every couple of years to keep things fresh. Last year, the brewery retired Two Below, a 6.6 percent ABV ESB-style winter ale, in favor of the hoppier Snow Day, which returns this year.

“What we are finding is craft brewers can congregate around certain brewers, but they tend to want new products,” said Bryan Simpson of New Belgium. “It’s a way to keep everyone interested in the what we’re doing.”

Fans of the dearly departed Two Below will get a chance to be reintroduced in 2013 when New Belgium brings back other retired seasonal beers – including Loft, Springboard and Giddyup – in its mixed Folly 12-pack, Simpson said.

Odell Brewing has no plans to change its commitment to winter seasonal Isolation Ale, available October through December.

“We sell a ton of it in those months,” said Amanda Johnson-King, marketing and branding manager with Odell. “We haven’t seen any kind of decline in interest or sales. We just have a real loyal following. I don’t foresee us taking out of the seasonal rotation any time soon.”

The same holds true at Denver’s Great Divide Brewing. The brewery has a roster of three seasonals out October through December – its top-reviewed 9.5 percent ABV Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (part of a rotating line of Yetis), Fresh Hop Ale (around since 2003) and the Great Divide beer that is most associated with wintertime, Hibernation Ale (an English strong ale).

Our new iPad app serves as a guide to metro Denver’s bountiful breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, the holy trinity of craft beer enjoyment for followers and fans. Download the app for iPad .
Next time you head for a beer in Boulder, don’t forget your friend, Beers of Boulder and Boulder County, an iPad app from the Daily Camera. Download the app for iPad .

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In Colorado, our pint glasses overflow with excellent beer. New breweries, new batches, festivals every other week. How lucky are we? First Drafts is The Denver Post's beer blog aimed at helping you keep tabs on the state's ever-expanding craft beer culture. We offer a mash of news, event coverage, homegrown stories, tasting notes and tips to help you imbibe. Expert drinker or homebrewer? Let us know what you're loving about Colorado's beer scene. Not sure exactly what a firkin is? No worries, let us be your guide. Go ahead. Belly up and drink it in!